Friday, February 14, 2020

I figured for Valentine's weekend, it's good to post about this restaurant with a view, right? Castaway in Burbank has quite the romantic setting, especially around sunset time.
Castaway has been around for years but they had a major remodeling in 2018.

The cocktail menu was more interesting than what I had expected. I started with a Don Pedro Old Fashioned (Ilegal mezcal, spiced bourbon reduction, PX nectar - $15). It was a nice mezcal Old Fashioned, and look at that view!
Castaway has hired Perry Pollaci as executive chef .Chef Pollaci previously worked with the Patina Group and at The Royce at the Langham in Pasadena.

I'm behind on blogging, so some of the menu has changed since the time I went but at the time I had some heirloom tomato and burrata with watermelon, yuzu, white balsamic, black pepper, mache, basil, chia seeds ($17)

Monday, November 3, 2014

I was recently invited on a trip to the Sacramento area with Certified Angus Beef, learning about what the brand and organization is all about while eating plenty of beef (Certified Angus, of course). As part of the tour, we had lunch at the lovely Bogle Winery in the Sacramento Delta.

A bit about Bogle: it is a family-owned winery and vineyard. The current owners are sixth-generation farmers and 3rd-generation winemakers. The family settled 20 miles from where the vineyard is now back in 1870, at Grand Island. They were growing produce and selling them to the gold rush people. Their grandfather moved to the current area during depression and started planting Petit Syrah back in 1968, being the first to plant grapes in the area. First, he grew them for other wineries but 10 years later started bottling for themselves with Petit Syrah and Chenin Blanc. When the grandfather passed away, their father decided to convert all their acreage to wine grapes.

Not a bad setting for lunch, eh?

For lunch, we had some coulottes. This is the cap of the top sirloin, which is a highly marbled cut and acts like tri-tip. If you've gone to a Brazilian steakhouse like Fogo, you'd know this as the picanha.

Thursday, June 26, 2014

by guest blogger Bryan Tsunoda @btsunodaCrustacean in Beverly Hills has been around for quite some time. The roasted crab and their famous garlic noodles are crowd pleasers and what Crustacean is best known for. Despite its name, Crustacean is so much more than that and I recently had the opportunity to sample some of their new offerings.

Crustacean is also known for its “Secret Kitchen.” A closed door kitchen within a kitchen, it’s where some of the restaurant’s most coveted dishes are prepared. Since their opening in 1997, only six dishes have been created in the Secret Kitchen. Now, there's a new Secret Kitchen item that we'll be tasting tonight.As I entered Crustacean, a three piece jazz ensemble provided entertainment to the bar patrons. The walk on water entrance features a serpentine shaped aquarium that doubles as a floor. It was obvious that Crustacean is still a place to be seen as everyone seated at the bar had the required ‘look’.Our group was led outside through the side door of the restaurant, entered an unmarked exterior door and walked up a flight of stairs. We learned that this is Crustacean’s new “Secret Room” - a new private place to dine. Celebrities enjoy the fact that they can be whisked in from valet parking through the separate side door.

Monday, February 10, 2014

Before, if you had asked me where to eat in Long Beach, I would have no answer. But now, Chianina Steakhouse has moved in and will soon be bringing the rare cattle breed to their menu. Chianina is an Italian breed that is the largest and one of the oldest breed of cattle in the world.

Since they are raising and breeding the cattle, the Chianina steak won't be available at the restaurant until March or April, but lucky for me they had butchered one for a preview dinner so we could try it!

More on that later, as there are plenty of other things to eat here. Our dinner started with a cup of buttery lobster broth.

Next is a Beet and winter root vegetable salad with mâché, almonds, raisin ($14)

I'm used to having my beets sweet and with creamy cheese like burrata or goat cheese instead of the slightly tart dressing here, but everything was fresh.